I don't really know much about apron front sinks, but got a partial answer about sinks in general from the manager of a high end store. Kohlers, according to him, are one of the best brands of cast iron sinks. But the reason there are so few porcelain on cast iron sinks nowadays is that they consider the enamel ones to be "higher quality". Enamel is baked at a higher temperature, so has a harder finish and is less prone to staining. It supposedly doesn't mark as easily to begin with as well. But what I don't get is why they see all these folks going for unsupported solid fireclay and don't get that we want ceramic sinks! The thing about enamel is that it feels like a metal sink. It clanks :) I mean, if it's well insulated it won't clank during regular use, but if you knock on it it clanks. Porcelain, fireclay and the like clink. Big difference :) Porcelain over cast iron doesn't feel any different than fireclay (though some of the glazing feels different) but it's not nearly as prone to chipping and cracking because of the big heavy thick metal substrate :)

This is an old thread so not sure these folks are around anymore--you may have better luck posting a new question--but we have a Cape Dory that we put in about 12 years ago using the Kohler mounting kit. We did not reinforce it otherwise, though our cabinets have very solid plywood boxes. Our plumber installed the sink but we did the mounting kit piece since he hadn't used it before. There are also some options for third party straps that will work too--someone with more familiarity with those may be able to recommend one for the Irontones sink. We just used the Kohler kit because it's what we knew about and Kohler stood behind it in case anything went sideways, but it's been trouble-free. We wanted to be able to remove and replace the sink from below if needed without removing the counters, though happily have never needed to do this. We don't have quartz counters (ours are soapstone) but not sure that would make much difference since the counters sit on top of it.

Anyone out there have the Riverby?

scottie mom, thank you so much. theresa21, I decided to use the marble slab on the backsplash and pure white quartz for the countertop so that I could cut lemons, pour red wine, etc. without minding the countertops too much. The quartz really is low-maintenance. When something does stain it, Mr. Clean Magic Eraser gets it out. Reesebuttercup, I love the shape of the Riverby. The rounded corners are easy to clean.